FRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY NEWS

Franciscan University of Steubenville Reacts to News of Pope Benedict XVI’s Resignation Announcement

Thoughts offered by Father Terence Henry, TOR, president, and professors from our Department of Theology

February 11, 2013

STEUBENVILLE,
OHIO—Franciscan University of Steubenville’s president and theology
professors offer their reactions to the news that Pope Benedict XVI will
resign the papacy on February 28 after nearly eight years in office.

Father Terence Henry, TOR, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville:

“While
Pope Benedict’s resignation is certainly unexpected, it is yet one more
sign of the strong leadership he has exhibited throughout his papacy.
It takes a particular kind of wisdom to know when to step down and a
wonderful humility to do so.

“I have nothing but the deepest
admiration for all Pope Benedict has given to the Church and the world. I
am particularly grateful as a university president for the Holy
Father’s guidance on the mission and identity of Catholic education and
his call for Catholic educators to ensure that ‘every aspect of your
learning communities reverberates within the ecclesial life of faith’
(April 2008). I am also especially grateful to Pope Benedict for his
recognition of the ‘grave threats’ to religious liberty and freedom of
conscience in this country and his encouragement to fight to retain the
‘Church’s public moral witness.’”

“Upon
his election as pope, some predicted that Pope Benedict XVI would be a
polarizing figure, continuing his long-held role as the Catholic
Church’s chief doctrinal defender and ‘censor.’ Pope Benedict certainly
did not avoid controversy in the pursuit of truth, engaging in honest
and serious dialogue with other religions and with modern culture,
unafraid to challenge the ‘dictatorship of relativism.’ Yet Pope
Benedict was deeply committed to promoting reconciliation: among
Christians, among nations, and with those alienated from the Catholic
Church. His writings—Jesus of Nazareth, Verbum Domini
on interpreting sacred Scripture, and his encyclical letters—are the
fruit of a lifetime of prayerful scholarship. Finally, his bold and
clear proclamation of the Gospel of Christ—the ‘New Evangelization’—and
his call for a ‘new springtime of the Spirit’ among the youth and in the
United States—reveal his vibrant spiritual vision, continuing the
legacy of his predecessor, Blessed John Paul II. In all of these ways,
Pope Benedict XVI has left a profound impression on the Catholic Church
and the world.”

Dr. Scott Hahn, the Father
Michael Scanlan, TOR, Chair of Biblical Theology and the New
Evangelization, Franciscan University of Steubenville:

“Back
on April 29, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI did something rather striking, but
which went largely unnoticed. He stopped off in Aquila, Italy, and
visited the tomb of an obscure medieval Pope named St. Celestine V
(1215-1296). After a brief prayer, he left his pallium, the symbol of
his own episcopal authority as Bishop of Rome, on top of Celestine's
tomb!

“Fifteen months later, on July 4, 2010, Benedict went out
of his way again, this time to visit and pray in the cathedral of
Sulmona, near Rome, before the relics of this same saint, Celestine V.
At the time, however, few people seemed to notice.

“Only now, we
may be gaining a better understanding of what it meant. These actions
were probably more than pious acts. More likely, they were profound and
symbolic gestures of a very personal nature, which conveyed a message
that a Pope can hardly deliver any other way.

“In the year 1294,
this man, Father Pietro Angelerio, known by all as a devout and holy
priest, was elected Pope, somewhat against his will, shortly before his
80th birthday (Ratzinger was 78 when he was elected Pope in 2005). Just
five months later, after issuing a formal decree allowing popes to
resign (or abdicate, like other rulers), Pope Celestine V exercised that
right. And now Pope Benedict XVI has chosen to follow in the footsteps
of this venerable model.”

“The
sudden news of the Pope’s decision to retire at the end of this month,
rather than die, as his sainted predecessor did, with his boots on, has
taken us all by surprise. But the shock of the realization that this
gentle and good man, this wonderful Vicar of Christ whose mind is as
profound as his heart is fearless, should be tempered by the recognition
that while popes come and go, the Church remains forever. And the
legacy he leaves behind will surely last as long as the Bride and Body
of Jesus Christ himself. What precisely that patrimony will consist of I
leave for another day. But surely the centerpiece of his life has
always been the love of God monstrated before the world in the sending
of his Son. All else has been a footnote to that horizon-shattering
event. And so I see his departure in the immediate context of that
blinding light. Leaving—to recall the last line of a poem by Stephen
Spender—‘the vivid air signed with his honor.’”

Father Sean Sheridan, TOR, canon lawyer and professor theology, Franciscan University of Steubenville:

“As
a Catholic educator myself, I have come to value greatly the many
teaching moments in which Pope Benedict XVI engaged during the course of
his pontificate. In particular, with regard to Catholic universities
such as Franciscan University, I recall that during his apostolic visit
to the United States, on April 17, 2008, the Holy Father delivered an
address to Catholic educators to encourage them to promote the Catholic
identity of their respective institutions.

“‘A university or
school’s Catholic identity is not simply a question of the number of
Catholic students. It is a question of conviction—do we really believe
that only in the mystery of the Word made flesh does the mystery of man
truly become clear (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22)? Are we ready to
commit our entire self-intellect and will, mind, and heart—to God? Do we
accept the truth Christ reveals? Is the faith tangible in our
universities and schools? Is it given fervent expression liturgically,
sacramentally, through prayer, acts of charity, a concern for justice,
and respect for God’s creation? Only in this way do we really bear
witness to the meaning of who we are and what we uphold.’

“It is
apparent that the Holy Father, himself a former university professor,
remained very concerned that Catholic identity should pervade all
aspects of the life of a university that promotes itself as a Catholic
university. The challenges that he presented will continue to influence
the delivery of Catholic education for years to come.

“Pope
Benedict XVI also demonstrated his dedication to catechesis by promoting
the New Evangelization through his own actions and preaching, but also
with the 2010 establishment of the new Pontifical Council for Promoting
New Evangelization and convoking the 2012 synod of bishops on the New
Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. Regrettably,
it seems to be unlikely that we will receive his post-synodal apostolic
exhortation on the New Evangelization before the election of the next
successor to Peter. Nevertheless, the Holy Father intended during the
Year of Faith, in which we are now engaged, that all members of the
Church will deepen their relationship with Christ.

“Pope
Benedict XVI engaged in countless other significant teaching moments,
the full impact of which will only come to be understood as we continue
to study his writings.”

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